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One of the main reasons why materialist circles support Darwinism with such intense determination is its atheistic aspect.
Atheism has existed since very ancient times, but with Darwinism, atheists imagined that they had finally found an answer to the question of how living things (and human beings) came to exist, which for centuries they had been unable to answer. They suggested that natural order and equilibrium had arisen as the result of coincidences, and that there was no purpose in the universe. However, every one of these views collapsed in the face of scientific, political and social advances made in the 20th century. Discoveries and analyses in a great many disciplines, from astronomy to biology, from psychology to social ethics, totally uprooted the theses of evolution and the assumptions of atheism.
Many evolutionists and materialists admit that Darwinism inevitably ends in atheism. Thomas Huxley was the first to state this openly, saying that when the theory of evolution was fully accepted, it would be impossible to believe in religion.
William Provine, professor of history at Cornell University and also an evolutionist, states that the world view of someone who believes in the theory of evolution is at complete variance with religion.161
Charles Smith, former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism, also admits this, saying "Evolution is Atheism."162
Phillip Johnson describes the importance of the theory of evolution for atheistic and intellectual trends incompatible with religious moral values:
… the triumph of Darwinism implied the [denial of the existence] of God and set the stage for replacing biblical religion with a new faith based on evolutionary naturalism. That new faith would become the basis not just of science but also government, law and morality. It would be the established ... philosophy of modernity.163
As Johnson states, many scientists with a blind faith in Darwinism and materialism have made it their aim to use science as a means of rejecting God. But the fact is, science is a most valuable means of revealing the proofs of God's existence. The last 20 years have seen a rapid rise in the numbers of scientists who support the fact of creation. Every new study, and every new piece of information shows that an exceedingly sensitive and flawless equilibrium exists in the entire universe, and reveals the work of a superior and great Intelligence that belongs to Almighty God, Who is exalted and rich beyond any need.
Michael Denton states that Darwinism brings atheism in its wake and causes great damage to humanity's way of looking at itself:
... [Darwin's] new and revolutionary [at the same time unreasonable and unscientific] view of the living world ... implied that all the diversity of life on Earth had resulted from natural and random processes and not, as was previously believed, from the creative activity of God. [Surely God is beyond that!] The acceptance of this great claim ... was to play a decisive role in the secularization of western society. ... It was because Darwinian theory broke man's link with God and set him adrift in a cosmos without purpose or end that its impact was so fundamental. No other intellectual revolution in modern times ... so profoundly affected the way men viewed themselves and their place in the universe.164
The loss or weakening of belief in God leads to a society's spiritual collapse. People with no fear of God, who deny that they will find their true, eternal lives after death and will be recompensed for their deeds in this world with Paradise or Hell, can be exceedingly unreliable, aggressive, ruthless and self-interested, and prone to dangerous criminal behavior. For someone who has no fear of God, there are no bounds. As long as that person thinks that he can somehow avoid being punished by laws, he may commit all kinds of immorality and cause all kinds of disruption in society, may cheat people, hurt them and engage in much similar behavior.
Fear and love of God, on the other hand, ensure that people live by proper moral values, behaving in ways that meet with His approval. This allows a society to progress, and also strengthens it. Otherwise, there will be no end to conflict, war, ruthlessness and injustice.
God commands goodness, justice, honesty and order. In the Qur'an, He reveals:
And to Madyan We sent their brother Shu'ayb who said, "My people, worship God! You have no other deity than Him. A clear sign has come to you from your Lord. Give full measure and full weight. Do not diminish people's goods. Do not cause corruption in the land after it has been put right. That is better for you if you are believers." (Surat al-A'raf, 85)
Do not lie in wait on every pathway, threatening people, barring those who believe from the way of God, seeking in it something crooked. Remember when you were few and He increased your number: see the final fate of the corrupters! (Surat al-A'raf, 86)
References
- William Provine, "Evolution and the Foundation of Ethics," MBL Science, (A Publication of Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts), vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 25-29; The Scientist, September 5, 1988. ↩
- Bert Thompson, Evolution as a Threat to the Christian Home, Apolegetics Press, USA. ↩
- Johnson, Defeating Darwinism, p. 99. ↩
- Denton, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, pp. 17, 67. ↩